How a rescue dog inspired a $2/month AI for everyone

I wasn't planning to build an AI product.

I was planning to adopt a dog.

In early 2024, I started volunteering at an animal shelter — walking dogs, cleaning kennels, and watching animals wait for homes that sometimes never came. The shelter was underfunded. The staff was stretched thin. The volunteers were passionate but exhausted.

And I kept thinking: there has to be a better way.

The math that broke me

The shelter I volunteered at was spending hundreds of dollars a month on basic administrative tasks — writing adoption profiles, responding to inquiries, creating social media posts to promote adoptable animals.

I knew AI could help. But when I looked at the pricing:

• ChatGPT Plus: $20/month
• Claude Pro: $20/month
• Gemini Advanced: $20/month

For a small shelter operating on donations, $20/month for a single tool is a real budget decision. Multiply that by staff members who could use it, and you're looking at $100-200/month just for AI assistance.

That felt wrong.

The global version of the same problem

Then I started thinking about this globally.

$20/month in USD terms:

• Nigeria: ₦32,000/month — that's a significant portion of minimum wage
• Philippines: ₱1,120/month — more than a day's wages for many workers
• Kenya: KSh2,600/month — a week's groceries for a family
• India: ₹1,600/month — a meaningful expense for most developers

The developers, NGO workers, teachers, and entrepreneurs in these countries who could benefit most from AI assistance were being priced out by USD-denominated subscription pricing.

What I built instead

I built SimplyLouie — a flat-rate AI access service at $2/month. That's:

• India: ₹165/month
• Nigeria: ₦3,200/month
• Philippines: ₱112/month
• Kenya: KSh260/month
• Ghana: GH₵25/month
• Indonesia: Rp32,000/month
• Brazil: R$10/month
• Mexico: MX$35/month

The pricing is intentional. ✌️$2 is the peace sign price — accessible to nearly anyone with internet access.

The rescue angle

Here's the part I'm most proud of: 50% of all revenue goes to animal rescue organizations.

Every subscription funds both affordable AI access AND animal rescue. The two missions are inseparable in my mind — both are about giving those who don't have power a fighting chance.

The dog I was going to adopt? I did adopt her. Her name is Louie.

The product is named after her.

What this means practically

SimplyLouie gives you access to Claude (Anthropic's AI) at a flat monthly rate. No per-token billing. No quota exhaustion emails. No sudden price changes.

You get:

• Unlimited conversations (fair use)
• Claude API access for developers
• No credit card required for the first 7 days
• Country-specific pricing so the cost makes sense in your local economy

If you're in India: simplylouie.com/in/
If you're in Nigeria: simplylouie.com/ng/
If you're in the Philippines: simplylouie.com/ph/
If you're anywhere else: simplylouie.com

The thing I didn't expect

Building this product taught me something I didn't expect to learn: pricing is a statement of values.

When you charge $20/month, you're saying: this is for people who can afford $20/month extras.

When you charge $2/month, you're saying: this is for everyone.

Louie (the dog) doesn't care how much money you have. She'll love you the same regardless.

I wanted to build something with the same energy.

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SimplyLouie is live at simplylouie.com. 7-day free trial, no credit card required. 50% of revenue goes to animal rescue.